Correcting an longstanding oversight, the Moore County Board of Commissioners has approved a revised contract with the Seven Lakes Volunteer Fire Department [SLVFD] recognizing that the department has been providing medium duty rescue services in its district since the 1980s.
Fire Marshal Ken Skipper explained during the Tuesday, September 7 meeting of the Moore COunty Board of Commissioners that a 2009 review of contracts with fire departments and rescue squads across the county had revealed that the county had no contract with any entity to provide rescue service within the Seven Lakes Fire District, even though the Seven Lakes VFD had been providing that service since the mid-1980s.
The county last year established new countywide standards for the provision of those services, Skipper said, and SLVFD had to acquire additional equipment and implement additional training in order to meet those standards, which it completed over the past year. During that interim, the county had contracted with West End Fire and Rescue [WEFR] to formally cover rescue duties in the Seven Lakes Fire District.
Now that SLVFD meets all county requirements, Skipper said, the rescue contract can be moved from West End to the Seven Lakes department. He noted in his report to the Board that the new contract would cost the county $1,500 per year in equipment maintenance costs, but added that, in the long run, the county would save money.
Currently, when there is an auto accident in the Seven Lakes Fire District, the 9-1-1 center dispatches Seven Lakes EMS, Moore County EMS, SLVFD, and WEFR. Under the new contract, West End Fire and Rescue would only be called if needed as backup for an accident that involves a confirmed entrapment.
"They meet the standards," Skipper said of SLVFD, adding that they had worked hard over the past year to meet the county's new rescue requirements. "All they need is a new contract."
The Board of Commissioners approved the new contract unanimously.
County says 'No' to exploration of Water Authority
The Commissioners decided not to approve a resolution committing them to participating, with other members of the Moore County Summit's Water Task Force, in exploring the viability of a new regional water and sewer authority.
Members of the Water Task Force have asked each of the county's municipalities to pass a similar resolution, and a number have done so. Moore County itself, however, has only recently begun to participate in the task force, an ad hoc group facilitated by the Moore County Chamber of Commerce.
"We've just now returned back to the Water Summit table," Commissioner Picerno said. "I would recommend that the board pass on signing any resolution until we have more understanding of what the the Task Force's end goals are."
County Attorney Misty Leland had reviewed the resolution at the Board's request and advised them that "you are really just agreeing to an exploration, but everything [in the resolution] up to that point states a lot of intent."
The draft resolution does in fact note in its "whereas" clauses that "no single governmental body . . . has the goal or power to address future water needs of the county as a whole," and "the legal formation of a regional water and sewer authority . . . can have the power, license, and ability to address general and specific needs for the county's water future."
Leland said the intent expressed in a resolution can be very important because future boards and county staff will look at the "whereas" clauses to see what the current board was trying to accomplish in approving a resolution.
The Board of Commissioners several years ago disbanded the regional water and sewer authority MOWASA, which had been formed to manage the water systems in Pinehurst, Seven Lakes, and other areas now managed directly by the county.
County Manager Cary McSwain questioned whether it would ever be appropriate to turn the $80 million in county assets represented by its water and sewer system over to another entity. He said the county had "put in the lion's share" to fund the McGill Study of the county's water needs.
"There has much been made of problems in the water system and of shortages that really don't exist," McSwain said.
The Board decided unanimously not to approve the resolution.
Other Business
In other business during their Monday, September 7 meeting, the Moore County Board of Commissioners:
• Congratulated the Finance Department on receiving an Award of Excellence from the Government Finance Officers Association for the twenty-second year in a row.
• Declared September Citizen's Voter Registration Awareness Month in Moore County.
• Heard a presentation by Planning Director Joey Raczkowski on an update of the County's Comprehensive Transportation Plan, which is getting underway in cooperation with the NC Department of Transportation. Commissioner Melton said the plan will be important to the future of the county and noted that the process will involve many opportunities for citizen participation and input.
• Approved a $1 million reduction in the assessed value of the Sandhills Value Inn on Route 1 in Southern Pines because thirteen of the Inn's 50 rooms are out of service and in the process of being converted to office and retail space.
• Scheduled a special meeting of 9:00 am on Thursday, September 16 to consider resolutions necessary to move forward on obtaining federal funds to support Phase 3 of the East Moore Water District.
• Tabled the acceptance of Federal Aviation Administration [FAA] funding for the Moore County Airport. The grant program requires a $16,667 local match in each of three years to obtain a total of $450,000 in FAA funding, and the county has already met that requirement in the past two years. However, Commissioner Lea expressed concern about the size of the Airport Authority's approximately $900,000 fund balance, and Commissioner Melton moved to table the request to allow more time for the Board to study the issue.
• Accepted a deed for six acres from Marion Precision Tools, due to an alleged breach by the company of an economic development contract with the county.
• Approved a $9,500 settlement of a lawsuit involving Silkworm Properties, Inc.
• Approved the purchase of a new drill by the Soil and Water District.
• Amended a contract with McGill Environmental Systems to increase payments by $5,000 because of higher than expected production of composted bio-solids at the Addor Water Pollution Control Plant.
• Approved a lease agreement with the NC Department of Corrections to satisfy new a General Statute that requires the county to provide space for probation offices.
• Approved a map of the insurance district for the newly-created Cypress Point Fire and Rescue.
• Authorized a rewrite of the Board of Adjustment By-Laws to bring them into line with NC General Statutes.
• Changed the composition of the Subdivision Review Board to include one member from Planning and another from the GIS Department. Formerly, GIS was part of Planning.
• Awarded a $275,000 contract to Sanford Contractors for the repair of a culverts in the Riverbend Community, washed out two years ago by Hurricane Hannah. Planning Director Raczkowski explained that the cost would be covered by a state grant with no local match needed.
• Approved and called a public hearing for September 20 on a grant application for $500,000 in federal Community Development Block Grant funds to be used in the county's housing rehabilitation program. Raczkowski explained that these federal stimulus dollars had originally been awarded to some of the state's larger communities, who failed to use them. They were recaptured by the state and are being made available to other communities.
• Approved two loan modification agreements for additional repairs to two homes under the county's housing rehabilitation program, and approved contracts for the rehabilitation of two other homes. Raczkowski noted that the county's housing rehab programs carefully screens applicants before asking the Board to approve repairs to their homes.
• Requested renewal of an $83,000 housing rehabilitation grant from the USDA Rural Economic Development Center, which was on hold until the county could win other grant funds to match it.
• Dissolved the county's Government Efficiency Advisory Board [GEAB], on the recommendation of its lone surviving member, Dick Westcott, who noted in a letter to the Board that the GEAB, since its inception in 2008, had addressed a variety of issues including water and sewer rates, fiscal policy, and the county's Group Health Plan.
• Voted to release a series of closed session minutes from 2009 and 2010 having to do with the purchase of the Grimm property for the site of the public safety complex and detention center.
• Moved its Monday, October 4 meeting to Tuesday, october 5, at the request of Commissioner Picerno.
• Appointed Superior Court Judge James Webb, District Attorney Maureen Krueger, and Carol Davis to the Criminal Justice Partnership Advisory Board.
• Appointed Jarrett Deerwester of Souther Pines to the Airport Authority.
• Appointed Ralph Harris of Roseland Road to the Planning Board.
